We've known that Razer was working on its own branded version of an Android TV set-top box for more than half a year, but at CES 2015 the well-known gaming peripheral company has given the gadget its coming out party. The Razer Forge TV hopes to be the go-to choice for gamers, with support for up to four simultaneous players, keyboard and mouse input, and (eventually) streaming high-end games from a local gaming PC.

The Forge TV box itself is a nondescript slab that looks something like a blacked-out version of a Mac Mini with Razer's triple snake logo on top. Inside are smartphone guts, albeit reasonably high-powered ones: a Snapdragon 805 processor, an Adreno 420 GPU, 2GB of RAM, full-sized HDMI 1.4 output, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and support for both standard Ethernet and USB 3.0. The storage is a disappointing 16GB (does Razer know how big high-end Android games are getting these days?) but perhaps the single USB port could be used for some customized expansion options. The Qualcomm chipset seems odd here - given Razer's association with gaming, you'd think the company would have jumped at the chance to use NVIDIA's mobile hardware. The promotional site does highlight its "silent thermal solution" (read: no fans).

The set-top box itself is quite slick, and tiny too - at 105x105x17mm, it's smaller than two stacked CD cases. But the real draw is the software, which should look familiar to Android Police regulars: it's Android TV (running on top of Lollipop, of course). Though Razer doesn't spend much time showing it, the default homescreen looks like standard ATV, complete with access to usual apps, movies, music, and everything else you'd see on the Nexus Player. Razer's focus on games extends into the peripheral hardware, as you'd expect from the company.

The preferred method of interaction is the new Serval Bluetooth controller. It's a pretty standard take on the nigh-universal Xbox 360 controller design, with Razer's green-on-black color scheme and a few extra buttons for controlling Android TV. But for PC expatriates who want the ultimate in control, Razer will also offer the Turret, a unique mouse and keyboard combo with an extended area specifically for a mousepad. Both can be recharged in a custom vertical charger. The setup looks a little awkward perched on the model's knees as he games from the couch - there's a reason most living room keyboards go with a touchpad - but presumably it's meant to more easily enable full PC game streaming.

Oh yes, Razer is doing the game streaming thing. Like the NVIDIA SHIELD products, the Forge TV is being built with the intent to stream full PC games from a nearby gaming machine straight to your gigantic television. Unlike the SHIELD, it should be compatible with non-NVIDIA hardware... and you'll have to pay for it. Though the Cortex streaming solution is only "coming soon" (and presumably coming somewhat later than the Forge TV itself), it will cost $39.99 for the software when it arrives. On the plus side, Razer's spec sheet indicates that it's compatible with any Android TV hardware, not just Razer's.

The Razer Forge TV will cost $100 when it launches in the spring (it's already missed a tentative fall 2014 launch date). At that price it won't come with the Serval controller or the Turret mouse and keyboard set, relying on a smartphone remote app for input, but a combo package with the Forge TV and one controller will cost $149.99. The Turret mouse and keyboard combo will cost $129.99 - not bad, by Razer standards. Individual Serval controllers (with a phone clip) will cost $80.

LAS VEGAS (CES 2015) – Razer™, a world leader in connected devices and software for gamers, today announced a product range centered around the Razer Forge TV, a high-performance Android TV micro-console to bring hardcore PC gaming and Android gaming into the living room. This new gaming ecosystem consists of the Razer Forge TV micro-console, Razer Cortex: Stream software and two Bluetooth peripherals, the Razer Serval and the Razer Turret.

Hardcore Android Gaming ExperienceRazer Forge TV offers cutting-edge performance with quad-core processing, gaming-grade graphics, industry-leading wireless and network connectivity with 16 GB of internal storage, all packed in a sleek and silent form factor. This micro-console’s powerful hardware easily plays the most popular games from Google Play on a large screen for up to four players.

The Razer Serval, a console-style Bluetooth gaming controller, is able to navigate and play games on Razer Forge TV. The controller is designed by the same Razer engineering team that created the award-winning Razer Sabertooth Xbox controller. With four action buttons, two thumb sticks, and trigger and bumper buttons, the Razer Serval enables play with any controller-ready Android TV game or Android mobile game on-the-go using the device’s phone clip. The versatile gaming controller has the ability to remember up to four unique device pairings, making the switch between the Razer Forge TV, mobile phone, tablet, and PC easy without having to worry about multiple controllers and settings.

Bringing PC Gaming to the living roomThe current approaches to playing PC games on a larger screen offer various challenges ranging from cost of additional hardware, game compatibility restrictions, laggy streaming technologies and the perennial problem of addressing the mouse and keyboard user interface issue in the living room

Enter Razer Cortex: Stream, the latest feature to Razer’s popular gaming launcher software used by millions of gamers worldwide, launching into beta in spring 2015. Providing ultra-low latency gaming and up to full-HD resolution with Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection, the proprietary game streaming technology sets the benchmark for streamed PC gaming. Razer Cortex: Stream is hardware agnostic and is compatible with Directx9 games and higher from any publisher.

This is rounded off with the Razer Turret – a wireless living room gaming mouse and lapboard that brings the power of a fully-fledged PC gaming keyboard and mouse in a sleek and ultra-thin form factor that has been designed to fit perfectly on your lap. With its fully anti-ghosted gaming keyboard and high precision 3500 DPI ambidextrous mouse, Razer Turret comes with dual wireless connectivity via Bluetooth 4.0 LE or Wireless 2.4 Ghz that ensures lag free gameplay and compatibility across multiple devices.

“Razer Forge TV is a device that is able to bring together the most popular elements of an entertainment center,” says Min-Liang Tan, Razer co-founder and CEO. “It powers popular music and movie apps and plays Android TV games that an entire family can enjoy. For the hardcore gaming audience, it will bring PC gaming to the couch. Razer Forge TV is what we see as the future of consoles.”

Users can also interact with Razer Forge TV through their mobile devices, including iOS, Android, ChromeBook, Windows and more. A mobile remote control app is available for easy navigation and supports voice search functionality. Google Cast lets users send the Web, movies, shows and photos from Android or iOS mobile devices or laptops to televisions. Select Android TV games and media progress may be saved and played back on Android smartphones and tablets via a cloud save feature.

Razer’s history includes success blending hardware and software together with its critically acclaimed gaming peripheral and systems products. The company has shipped 13 million connected devices to-date, and close to 4 million people log onto Razer software on a monthly basis.

About the Razer Forge TV:

Razer Forge TV was built to bring hardcore PC gaming, Android gaming and entertainment to the television. The Razer micro-console opens the gateway for next-level Android TV gaming that is designed for the serious gamer. Intense full-HD graphics combined with the Razer Serval controller provide the detail and precision that is needed to dominate the living room.

Bring your friends into the action with support for up to four controllers. Powered by a quad-core processor and gaming-grade graphics, the Razer Forge TV makes the most of Android gaming. Pick up your games and movies where you left off when switching between your mobile device and Razer Forge TV.

Explore a massive selection of games, movies, music and apps available on Google Play. Cast your favorite game streams, movies, music, and web content from a mobile device to your Razer Forge TV.

Complete with the features of a full-fledged console controller, the Razer Serval elevates your Android gaming experience to a whole new level. Designed for the Razer Forge TV, this Bluetooth enabled gaming controller has been built with the same precision and ergonomics as Razer’s award-winning console controllers.

Together with an adjustable game clip for your mobile phone, the Razer Serval can be used for a multitude of functions, making it the ultimate controller for gaming on your Android devices.

Price: Razer Store - $79.99 / €79.99

Availability: Razerzone.com – Q1 2015

Product features:

Designed for Android Gaming

Wireless mode (Bluetooth 3.0)

Wired mode (1.5 m micro USB to USB)

4 Hyperesponse action buttons

Adjustable game clip

Player LED indicator

Android navigation buttons (back and home)

Media buttons (play/pause, back, forward)

Rechargeable battery pack (optional)

2 Analog stick rubber grip caps included

About the Razer Turret:

The Razer Turret puts the power of desktop grade gaming peripherals right in your lap as you play your favorite game titles on the couch. In addition to the undeniable precision achieved by using a keyboard and a mouse, this highly ergonomic lapboard also gives you the power to execute typing commands while you’re gaming or browsing, without having to switch devices constantly.

Price: Razer Store - $129.99 / €129.99

Availability: Razerzone.com – Q2 2015

Product features:

Lapboard

Anti-ghosting capability for up to 10 simultaneous key presses

Chiclet styled keycaps

Dedicated Android buttons

Cortex quick launch button

Battery life of up to four months - The life expectancy of this battery depends upon its usage

Battery type: Li-Po (1500 mAh)

Mouse

3500 DPI laser sensor

Ambidextrous form factor

40 hours battery life for continuous use - The life expectancy of this battery depends upon its usage

Comments

Cory S

I ended up using an old laptop to use as an HTPC. I'm really impressed with how well Steams in home streaming works.

someone755

*if you have the right kind of router.
150Mbps users rip, you will be missed. Same as with the NVidia GameStream thing -- dual-band wireless-N is the absolute minimum it'll work on unless you're willing to sacrifice both framerate and resolution down to [email protected]

Cory S

I have an AC router, but I don't really trust any WiFi band for that type of thing. I have both systems plugged into gigabit connections.

John

Looks like a fire TV. Is there any chance they are made by the same OEM?

Yeah, because in my day job where I spend 8 to 10 hours typing away on a keyboard while in VIM, the first thing I want to do is come home and start hammering my carpal-tunnel wrists against another keyboard instead of a comfortable ergonomic controller. /s

Not all console players are idiots you make them out to be. There are reasons for preferring to keep your computer and your gaming separate. But that's okay, you can just be a dick about it :)

And yes, I know; you can use a controller with PC games. It's not nearly as clean of a solution and often involves unofficial tools (trust me, I know, I've been there). I have the original i7 920, a GTX 670, and I still find my Xbox One a better experience.

Godspoken

They're joking.

Đức Thành

#PCMUSTARDRICE

Deckard_Cain

Actually, there's the option of getting the box with the controller plus the Streaming app for 150$. Which is an awesome price.

It has low storage space, otherwise it would be perfect for playing Android Games - it should have a microSD expansion slot but maybe we can use a USB drive in that USB slot?

Супчик

It comes with Android 5, so we should be able to do that. I'm not sure if Google allows to write on an external drive in Lollipop, KitKat had some restrictions. Maybe root and stuff will be needed.

For the price this box is awesome I would say. Unfortunately, I don't know if there are enough games for Android TV platform.

Defenestratus

Only thing I wish it had was HDMI passthru. I hate having to switch TV inputs just to use my chromecast. Such a PITA.

Currently its a pain in the butt to be watching TV, and then want to cast something on the CC. First I have to pick up my remote, and switch to my chromecast input.

I have a GTV Co-star box , but it doesn't stream as well the chromecast - but I love the convenience of just picking up my phone, even while watching sportscenter, and saying "I feel like watching something on youtube" and not having to pick up my harmony remote to switch inputs.

Lucas Laws

Does your TV support HDMI-CEC, because that would solve the issue.

Defenestratus

Yes it does but CEC won't return to my previous input when I'm done streaming.

Vaotix

FYI - they announced the mouse and keyboard set is going to go to $150. The TV box doesn't come with the controller at $99, but if you want it, you can buy them together for $149.

Brandon Miller

That's not too bad then for the controller and TV box

Justin W

Any word on a bundle with the kb/m combo?

fsck

Hopefully the Xbox controller usb dongle works with this as it does on Ouya.

Jason

Ethernet port ftw.

Adrian Meredith

snapdragon 805 is disappointing, surely K1 would have been far better choice

Luxferro

Then it wouldn't cost $99. Probably more like $150-200.

But I agree, would have been nice to have the K1 for a high end option.

Abbas Mustafa Bhaiji

even better x1

Mehmed

K1 now is old already, now we demand X1, the 256 Shader Maxwell with 64 bit.
Yo

someone755

Hey why don't we shove an NVidia Radeon R9 990Ti up our ass as well?

AuroraFlux

With the Android games that you'll be playing on this box? No, I'm pretty sure an 805 is overkill as it is.

But towerfall won't be coming to this (the Ouya team is actually doing the porting work for Android now). That makes the Ouya still better than this for couch gaming until anything comparable comes out. At the very least it's worth it now if you can get one for cheap just to hook up 4 xbox controllers and play towerfall with friends.

The story has been updated with pricing info for the Forge TV and accessories, per Razer's press release. Thanks to the commenters below for the heads up.

Joshua Jones

My primary question is whether OnLive will run on this.

Cenarl

said no one ever?

Jay

Onlive works with the nexus player just fine, so I'm sure this will have no problem running it

androidUser99

I had such high hopes this device would have HDMI pass-through although knowing it's specialized for gaming it does not surprise me that it does not. When is someone going to release an Android TV STB with HDMI pass-through? There are a lot of people who want this including me. Switching inputs to cast a quick video or a picture then switching back is just dumb and not consistent with modern technology. They had this idea right on GTV but the overall execution of GTV failed. What a bummer!

Defenestratus

I'm there with you.. its the only problem I can see with it.

AuroraFlux

Because pass-through is a terrible, terrible standard, filled with all sorts of video and audio latency?

Pricing surprised me. Expected them to put a premium on it. Glad I waited on the Nexus Player. This might be smarter.

Sir_Brizz

Why isn't nvidia announcing one of these yet?

Cenarl

kinda interesting and to be honest I expected Razer to put a ridiculous price tag on it, but it's semi reasonable. Although adding in the cortex software would be a must for me for my purposes which is something Steam does free. Im interested to see if Cherry Trail can make a legit HTPC for a good price for DIY'ers or at least have more competition in prebuilt mini/HTPCs

Bootleg Zani

So happy I didn't buy a Nexus Player!

boogie_monster

So disappointed I bought Fire TV!

Justin W

You bought a Fire device, you knew what you were getting into.

boogie_monster

I'm not gonna lie, not all Fire devices are bad, and I still believe compared to my other choices it was the best option I had at the time. I mainly got it to install XBMC on it and compared to a Nexus Player I get to have a Ethernet connection without buying an extra adapter (also $20 cheaper), but if I knew this was coming out I'd have hold off till this became available.

DirkBelig

I've got the Fire TV Stick and it has almost totally replaced my Chromecast. Plex is 1000% better than casting from a device and having a hardware remote is something you never realized you couldn't live without until you got one, like the scroll wheel on mice.

It doesn't have the bazillion channels like Roku and it'll never have Google Play support, but for the most part, for my usage, it does the job nicely. HBO GO is coming soon, but Showtime Anytime doesn't support DirecTV accounts for some dumb reason. But for Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube, Plex, etc., I love it and for $19 it was a steal.

Um what? are you saying this is redundant because you can do this by connecting your PC to your TV via HDMI cable already?

For me and i'm sure many others it's about extending your PC to another end point.

I've already got a HTPC which i play some games on too, and this lets me extend that to the bedroom.

nick

Haha,
I was just 'thinking loud' :-)

My 'PC Room' and my TV are just separated by a wall,
So if i would drew a houle trough i would'nt need streaming (wich is complicated)
Like for Limelight u need GTX 760 and up. For this a subscription...?

Becouse i was planning to get a nexus player (when its available in europe)
This also look nice but without a Remote... (just wonder if its so complicated to make a Remote in china :-)
Soo the straming thing doesen't replace for me the Remote.

P.S
In Germany would say like: 'Do it once and do it Right'.

Renaldi I.

I'm not sure it works that way...

Richard

Why,
On the first view this looked like a nice deal to me, but wait...
Where is the Remote? No Remote?

I made one time the 'partial' mistake with my android box, it had 'no' remote (only a non usable cheap ir Remote)
Luckly it had an App for my phone with Touchpad mouse controll.

But i can't imagine that controlling the A TV only by a D-Pad App the best experience,
(The Apps and the UI was made for a Remote)
So i think sooner or later it needs buying the controller also.

Medion

You can use your TV's remote to control it in most cases. We rarely use our NP's remote as the TV remote works fine with it.

GazaIan

A whole lot better than that damn Nexus Player, but I'm sure even better Android TV hardware is to come.

Nasir Mxd

No tv remote controller ? shame

Medion

You can use your HDTV remote via HDMI-CEC.

KG

Anybody else concerned that this will not get updates straight from Google like the NP will? All this reeks of skinned OS (a la smartphone market), they barely showed the Android TV home screen, plus Netlix is missing from the list of apps supported on their webpage (http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-systems/razer-forge-tv).
If this was straight vanila Android TV OS with their apps added in for gaming, wouldn't this support Netflix out of the box?

If this is the case and after being burned by the Revue lack of updates and given that Android TV will see a lot of updates, this will be a non starter for me.

Maybe I am reading too much into this, time will tell. I sure hope it is not the case.
Did Google say Android TV will not be allowed to be skinned like regular Android is?

fsck

If it didn't have the play store, that would kill this.

On the updates front though, without cell carrier certification I wouldn't as worried. The updates should be much easier and quicker.

primalxconvoy

If this is similar to an Ouya, then no thanks.

Kijiji

I'm just waiting for Nvidia Shield's K1 Android TV box. I doubt there streaming will work any better then Nvidia's gamestream which is baked into the graphics card. I also really find the Shield controller to be amazing and comfortable and well prices.

primalxconvoy

Me too, but I hope all of these Android TV boxes will support ps3, xbox, Moga, etc controllers, too (at least as HID controllers).

But yea, other than the above, Nvidia's option should be at least on par with Razer's.

Hockoto

Cortex Stream is what I'm most interested in. The website mentions this:

"Streams to: Any Android Device running Android 5.0 and higher."

Alan Shannon

"Price: Razer Store - $99.99 / €99.99 $149.99 / €149.99"

Annoys me so much but yet almost every company does it. Do they realise the Euro is worth more than the Dollar?

Guest

The euro is no longer worth more than the dollar. 1 eur = 1.19 usd

Colage

1 EUR = 1.19 USD means that the Euro is worth more than the dollar. Put another way, if someone converted their Euros to Dollars and bought the controller at the US price, they'd pay ~€84 rather than €100.

Alan Shannon

€1 = $1.17 as of 13/1 That means it is worth more.

Oliver Phillips

US price doesn't include sales tax, the EU price will include 20% VAT

Alan Shannon

VAT in Europe differs by country, where I live it is 23%, even considering that there is no state in America with that sort of sales tax!

TylerChappell

Well at least it has 16GB of storage and 2GB of RAM rather than 8GB/1GB.
I really wish they would have made more storage options for the Nexus Player. I would have gladly paid $150 for a 32GB option, or better yet, even $200 for a 64GB option that included the Asus Game Pad. There's no reason companies can't make an Android TV console with 64-128GB of storage for gamers and price it at $200. I'd buy one of those before a WiiU any day.

primalxconvoy

Exactly. This is the strongest Android STB/console I've heard of so far (barring the too-good-to-be-true "Obox"), but the (possible) lack of multiple USB hard drive support and the low internal memory worries me.

As I keep spamming, I'm waiting for Nvidia to make a " Shield TV" box, which will hopefully answer all of my Android TV/microconsole prayers.

TylerChappell

I decidedly to be slightly forgiving because of the $20 Google Play Credit effectively making my Nexus Player only $80, but still. I only have a handful of games on there and it's already out of storage. Also, the current build of Lollipop it runs doesn't seem too friendly with 5GHz networks. It constantly stutters and buffers when trying to cast video content while connected to my 5GHz band but works fine when on the 2.4GHz band.